


It's Getting Hot in Here (So Take Off All Your Robes)

by McStupid



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Confessions, Despite the title, Ember Island (Avatar), Emo Zuko, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Heart-to-Heart, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mentions of Anxiety, No Smut, Pre-Zukka, Secrets, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, because it's zuko, clownery, midnight swims, sokka is a clown, they're just kids ugh, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:34:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28159842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McStupid/pseuds/McStupid
Summary: South Pole native Sokka is not handling the Ember Island heat well, so he does what any logical person would do- strips down to his undies and meanders down to the beach for a midnight swim, where he bumps into Zuko, who is characteristically Brooding Alone In The Dark. (No smut, despite how it sounds lol)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 179





	It's Getting Hot in Here (So Take Off All Your Robes)

Sokka was a proud member of the Southern Water Tribe, fuck you very much. He could handle the cold with the best of them. All his years living in the tundra had him practically immune to frostbite, and he was too tough for hypothermia. He was good with cold, okay? 

But the heat.

Tui and La, the head on Ember Island was something else. It felt like the air itself was pressing into him, scorching his body from the inside out with every breath he drew. In his less focused moments, Sokka had entertained himself by wondering aloud whether or the Fire Nation might actually be a nation of evil fire-geckos, which was why they were so well-adapted to the heat, which had made Aang laugh so hard he dropped Momo, and Zuko sigh heavily. During the day it wasn’t so bad because he could distract himself and, if needed, take a dunk in the ocean to cool off, but the nights were the  _ worst.  _

Sokka lay atop the sheets in his bed in Firelord Ozai’s beach house (and wasn’t  _ that  _ just a trip and a half) clad only in his skivvies, and disgustingly slick with sweat. 

Tui and La, he was not meant for this. He really wasn’t. Grumbling to himself, Sokka tried to flip his pillow over to the cool side, only to discover, to his horror, that this nightmarish island was too sweltering to even give him that little bit of relief. If the Firelord didn’t kill him, this stupid climate was going to. 

Fine. Night swim, then.

Resolutely but muttering choice words under his breath, Sokka hoisted himself out of the bed- which, ew, was literally  _ damp-  _ grabbed his space sword but not his tunic, and set off for the beach, tiptoeing through the house and expertly sidestepping Appa’s slumbering form out in the courtyard. 

As he neared the beach, Sokka could make out the silhouette of a… something laying in the sand. Weird log, maybe, but Sokka had been ambushed too many times to take the chance. It occurred to him that he was about to do battle in his underwear, but it couldn’t be helped.  _ Yue, don’t let me die wearing only my underwear _ , he prayed, hefting his space sword and pacing quietly towards the strange shape in the sand, weapon aloft. He was so stealthy. The stealthiest. Exactly like a polar bear-dog stalking its prey-

“Sokka?” 

‘Huh?” Sokka lowered his sword and squinted into the darkness. That raspy irritation sounded familiar. “ _ Zuko _ ?”

“What are you doing out here?” the fire prince snapped, calling fire to his fingertips to illuminate the scene. “And where are your  _ clothes _ ?”

Ah. Right. Fuck. Sokka’s mostly-nude form was suddenly illuminated by Zuko’s fire. Cool. This is  _ not  _ exactly the way he would have wanted Zuko to see him almost naked. Wait, what? Scratch that. Stop it. Don’t make this weird. 

“I was hot?” Sokka offered lamely, realizing that Zuko was still waiting for an explanation, staring up at him with an inscrutable expression from his seat in the sand. 

“Hot,” Zuko repeated flatly. 

“Yes, hot!” Sokka parrotted, now warming (heh) to his theme. “I don’t know how the fuck you all can stand this weather, but I for one-”

“The ocean is, like, three feet away.” Zuko gestured impatiently with his fire, apparently unconcerned with the sparks that flew onto his bare skin. “Go cool off instead of whining just because you can’t handle a little heat.”

“Come with me?”

“What?” Zuko was not getting to his feet. “Why?”

“Well, you can either sit here in the dark and brood in silence, or come swimming with me.”

Zuko blinked at him.

“And think how mad Katara would be if something happened to me and you weren’t there to help me,” Sokka added, whipping out his ace.

Zuko mumbled something uncharitable under his breath, but stood reluctantly. “Fine. Night swim it is.”

“Night swim!” Sokka dropped his space sword and sprinted into the water, diving underneath and letting himself luxuriate in the sensation of chilly water encompassing him, bubbles lifting his body and waves carrying him along. The ocean was his place. He might not be a waterbender, but the ocean was a holy place, and he found comfort that it followed him everywhere, even to this spirits-forsaken Fire Nation island. 

When he finally popped his head above water, Sokka could make out Zuko’s silhouette standing at the water’s edge, slowly removing his tunic and kicking off his boots. Sokka’s stomach flipped pleasantly at the thought of Zuko disrobing, and then he dunked himself to clear his head. Do not make this weird. He’s just a friend. 

Floating on his back while he waited for Zuko to join him, Sokka let the waves lap at him gently while he stared up at Yue contemplatively. He hadn’t really thought about… you know, liking boys until recently. It probably had something to do with there being approximately zero other boys his age in the village, and not many kids, period. But while travelling, Sokka had started to notice that he was maybe into guys. It was relatively common in the South Pole, and he knew his Dad wouldn’t care, so it really wasn’t a huge deal… but wasn’t it, though?

And now with Zuko here… Tui, it was so  _ not the time  _ for this, but Sokka thought Zuko was the most tragically beautiful person he had ever met in his stupid life, and the only person who could ever make him use a melodramatic phrase like “tragically beautiful.”

Suddenly, the object of his thoughts was bursting up from below the water with a laugh, shoving Sokka below the water before he had time to react.

“Hey!” Sokka popped back to the surface. “No sneak attacks!”

Zuko laughed triumphantly and slicked wet hair out of his golden eyes. “And what’re you gonna do about it?”

Sokka gave a growl and launched himself at Zuko, marking the beginning of an  _ epic  _ aquatic wrestling match during which Sokka tried simultaneously to drown Zuko and also to commit the feeling of his skin to memory. Finally, after either fifteen minutes or two hours, the boys had exhausted themselves, and slogged back to the beach in companionable silence. 

“That was fun,” Zuko commented, squeezing saltwater out of his shaggy hair. Sokka couldn’t help but smirk at the idea that Mr. I’m-Never-Happy had had fun with  _ him.  _ “Still hate this island?”

“Yes.” Sokka answered decisively, and could have sworn that he saw Zuko’s face drop in the half second before he knocked their shoulders together and added, “But less when I’m with you.”

“Are you going back up to the house?” Zuko gestured to the mansion, jutting out of the cliffside above them.

Sokka shrugged. “Not really that tired. Are you going back up?”

Zuko snorted. “No.” 

Well. There was definitely something to explore there, but Sokka let it rest for the moment, dedicating his energy instead to helping Zuko gather kindling for a small fire, which Zuko lit with a controlled blast from his palm. 

“I usually forget- but firebending is actually kind of beautiful,” Sokka blurted out. Whoops. To distract himself from Zuko’s astonished expression, he busied himself with finding a seat in the sand beside the small fire. 

“I… Me, too. Thanks,” Zuko managed, pulling his tunic back over his head and delicately setting into the sand beside Sokka’s sprawled form. Sokka’s back hurt staring at Zuko’s amazing posture. 

“So, what were you doing down here?” Sokka wasn’t going to ask, but hey- there’s no accounting for personality. 

Zuko shook his head. “None of your business.”

“I thought you wanted to be  _ friends, _ ” Sokka needled mercilessly. He had a reputation of being nosy to uphold, after all. It definitely was  _ not  _ because he had a gut-deep need to know everything about Zuko. Definitely not. “Friends  _ share,  _ Zuko. C’mon, what’s up?”

There followed a long silence, but something told Sokka not to be the one to break it, for once. 

“It- there’s just a lot of memories at that house,” Zuko finally responded, eyes fixed on the crackling fire. “My family is just… all fucked up now. I don’t know why we had to be so fucked up,” he admitted quietly. 

Sokka didn’t know what to say. “Was your dad, you know, always…”

“Always a psychopath?” Zuko snorted. “Yeah. I mean.. Yeah. He’s done some fucked up stuff.” Sokka waited for him to elaborate, but when he didn’t, the Water Tribe boy took a risk and grabbed Zuko’s hand. To his everlasting shock, the prince didn’t pull away, but squeezed back. In Yue’s light, the water droplets in his hair glimmered. “One time- at this house- he had Azula throw fireballs at me for training. Said if I couldn’t be a proper bender, then the best I could do was be target practice for a prodigy.”

Sokka had no idea how he could possibly hear Zuko’s matter-of-fact little tale over the definitely audible sound of his heart breaking. “Zuko-”

“And  _ don’t  _ fucking feel sorry for me,” Zuko spat belatedly. “Don’t, Sokka.”

A pause, wherein Sokka tried to rearrange his emotions appropriately, with limited success. He wondered what kind of person Zuko would have been absent these traumatic memories, decided that he didn’t care because this Zuko was his favorite person anyway. 

The fire threw shadows, which chased each other across Zuko’s scarred face. Not for the first time, Sokka wondered about the origin of that terrible burn, but now he felt like he might have a sickening idea of where it came from. “Do you… I mean, we never asked- is it hard, planning to kill the Fire Lord?”

Zuko sighed quietly, and then turned to face Sokka for the first time, still holding his hand. “I mean- no. No. He tried to kill me first. I wish it was different but…”

“I think we forget how personal this war is for you,” Sokka offered, generously skating right past the “my father tried to kill me” thing. This wasn’t the time. 

“It’s personal for everyone,” Zuko said with finality, evidently done sharing. 

“You’re the bravest person I know,” Sokka blurted out. 

Zuko stiffened in surprise and tried to pull back, stymied by Sokka’s grip on his fingers. “I’m a coward,” he replied flatly. 

“Definitely not,” Sokka laughed out loud. “Zuko, you’re maybe one of the most batshit craziest people I have ever met in my entire life. We went on a  _ suicide mission  _ together last week.”

Zuko smiled shyly, somehow bashful at being called _ batshit crazy. _ “Thanks.”

“Can I do something brave and stupid right now? You have to promise not to shoot fireballs at me.” Sokka hadn’t actually meant to ever do this, but fuck it- he was feeling bold under Yue’s watchful eye, with the ocean lapping gently nearby. 

“Um…. okay,” Zuko replied nervously. 

Moving slowly, in case Zuko needed to get away, Sokka extraciated his fingers from Zuko’s and raised his hands to cup the firebender’s cheeks, gentle with the scarred one. More delicately than he knew he was able, Sokka bent their heads together to meet Zuko’s chapped lips in a soft kiss. 

For one heart-stopping moment, Zuko didn’t respond, but as soon as Sokka began to pull away, Zuko grabbed the back of his head, pulling him back into a desperate kiss, which was totally amazing and definitely confirmed that Sokka liked boys. Liked  _ this  _ boy. 

“Sorry,” Sokka quirked a half smile when they finally broke apart for oxygen. “Just been meaning to do that for a while now.”

“You should’ve done it sooner,” Zuko told him seriously, leaning in for another kiss. 

The island was still hellaciously hot, and the war still raged on. Aang was still woefully unprepared to kill the Fire Lord, and Azula was still hunting them down. Zuko still had  _ issues  _ with a capital  _ ish  _ and Sokka still missed his parents. So many things were still so fucked up, but Sokka felt all of that recede into the background for just a few moments. Just a few moments with Zuko. 


End file.
